Polisher and burnisher

ABSTRACT

A unitary polishing and burnishing machine has a frame carrying a composite hopper tiltably mounted on a supporting stand with a flexible mixing section lying on the tilting axis and a stiff loading section lying above the mixing section. A motor is mounted on the frame at a location below the hopper and in general vertical alignment whereby operating masses hold the hopper upright during operation and facilitate tilting to an inverted position to discharge.

I Un ted States Patent 1191 1111 3,7 Garlinghouse 1 Oct. 16, 1973 POLISHER AND BURNISHER 3.132.848 5/1964 Garlinghouse 259/72 3,173,664 3/1965 lsaa s et al. [75] Invent: Gflrlmghmlse, Pasadena 3,315,417 4/1967 116152138 51/163 [73] Assignee: Garlinghouse Brothers, Los Primary ExaminerHarold D. Whitehead Angeles, Calif. Assistant ExaminerN. P. Godici [22] Filed Dec 20 1971 Attorney-Vernon D. Beehler et al.

l N [2 1 App] 209707 57 ABSTRACT U S Cl 51/163 259/72 A unitary polishing and burnishing machine has a [51] In. .C] 1. Bzib 31/06 frame y g a composite hopper tiltably mounted [58] Fie'ld 63 6 7 on a supporting stand with a flexible mixing section lying on the tilting axis and a stiff loading section lying above the mixing section. A motor is mounted on the [56] References Cited frame at a location below the hopper and in general vertical alignment whereby operating masses hold the UNITED STATES PATENTS hopper upright during operation and facilitate tilting 1,322,575 li/l9l9 Jaeger .L 259/176 to an inverted position to discharge, 1,330,801 2/1920 Greenberg 259/72 X 2,854,222 9/1958 Dening et al. 259/102 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures POLISI-IER AND BURNISHEIR Reference is made to prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,132,848 and 2,854,222 which disclose a container with wobble motion similar to that taken advantage of in this application.

In the polishing and burnishing of hard objects suchas stones and metal pieces the operation is frequently accomplished in a container which can be rotated or moved about in an irregular fashion so as to toss the pieces into contact with each other. Frequently the container may be additionally loaded with finely divided hard pieces of other material to assist in abrading, wearing and polishing the surfaces of the work pieces. Although this process in general is well known there are recurring problems such as unwanted wear of the hopper and the machine which drives it, lack of adequate speed control under all circumstances, problems in loading and dumping the contents and the ever present problem of need for improving efficiency and lowering cost.

It is therefore among the objects of the invention to provide a new and improved machine adapted for polishing deburring burnishing operation which is a unitary machine, compact in its arrangement and of such character that it can be built to any one of a large number of different sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved machine for such operations as polishing and burnishing which is constructed in a counterbalanced fashion such that when loaded and during operation it, in effect, is self supporting in upright position and which, when the operation is completed, can be easily tilted into a position where complete discharge of the contents is readily accomplished.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved machine capable of such operations as polishing and burnishing which makes use ofa composite hopper, a portion of which is rigid and another portion of which is flexible, the flexible portion being of sufficient capacity to agitate all of the contents, the agitating operation and power source being of such character that the speed can be readily controlled and varied as need may require, depending upon the character and size of particles which are being subjected to the operation.

Still further among the objects of the invention is to provide a new and improved polishing and burnishing machine which is simple and rugged in its design and construction and where all moving and operating parts are readily accessiblefor repair, servicing and replacement.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view partially broken away showing the machine in a position ready for operation.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view on the circular line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view at right angles to the view of FIG. 1 taken on the line 44 of FIG. ll.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the device in a discharge position.

In an embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration, there is shown a unitary polishing and burnishing machine, indicated generally by the reference character which consists in the main of a supporting stand 11 on which a frame 12 is tiltably mounted upon a horizontal axis 13. On the frame 12 is a composite hopper l4 driven by a motor 15 which is likewise mounted on the frame 12. The supporting stand includes a base adapted to rest upon any appropriate surface 21, the base being reinforced by a transverse tubular structure 22, 23, at opposite ends of which columnar brackets 24 and 25 extend upwardly in vertical position braced by tubular struts 26, 27.

The frame 12 includes side pieces 30, 31 attached to a platform 32 by use of gusset plates 33, 34 serving as braces. Flanges 35, 36 at opposite sides of the platform provide rigidity and stability.

At the upper end of the side piece is a cradle 37 the position of which is made rigid by a gusset plate 38. On the opposite side a similar cradle 39 is held rigidly in position by a gusset plate 40. The cradles and gusset plates are attached to the exterior of the composite hopper 14 by welding and in this manner support the composite hopper 14 on the frame 12.

The hopper itself consists in the main of two parts, namely, a relatively rigid upper loading section and a relatively flexible lower section 46. For convenience an upper edge 47 of the lower section 46 is anchored to the lowermost edge 48 of the loading section by employment of a band 49 fastened in an appropriate conventional manner.

. The upper loading section 45 has an open top end 50 relatively smaller than the balance of the upper section so that during operation when the contents of the composite hopper are being agitated, some pieces of the load cannot readily be tossed out. It has also been found advisable to line the entire interior of the upper loading section 45 with a lining 51 of some appropriate soft material such as sheet rubber or sheet plastic, or flexible'sheet material comparable to the material of which the lower section 46 is made. Such material, which has been found suitable, is fabric reinforced rubber of the type frequently used for the walls of inflated automobile tires.

To support the frame 12 on the side pieces 30, 31 there is provided on each side a pivot shaft 55, as explified by FIG. 3, the pivot shaft being nonrotatably fixed to the upper end of the side piece and extending inwardly into a roller bearing 56 which is held in a retainer 57 attached to the loading section 45 by means of bolts 58 extending through a washer 59.

To give the flexible lower section 46 the required movement for creating agitation of the contents, there is applied centerably to the exterior a wobble plate, in-

dicated generally by the reference character 60, the plate in practice consisting of an inner plate 61 and an annular washer 62 which anchors between them an annular portion 63 of the flexible, lower section 46 at its bottom. A plate support 64 of more rugged character is appropriately fastened to the inner and outer plates and is provided with a central bushing 65 in which is rotatably positioned a shaft 66. The shaft is anchored in a head 67 of a drive shaft member 68 which is rotated by a drive shaft 69. As will be noted, the axis of the shaft 66 is tilted with respect to the axis of the drive shaft member 68 and is also offset with respect thereto. It is further significant that the plate support 64 and its central bushing 65 are rotatable relative to the head 67 and incidentally relative to the shaft 66.

Power for operating the wobble plate and as a consequence the lower section 46 of the composite hopper is supplied by the motor which may be electrically, hydraulically or pneumatically or otherwise driven. In the form of the device chosen by way of example, the motor 15 has a variable speed drive to suit requirement of different materials handled and is provided with a substantially conventional unit 70 wherein by means of suitable gearing or comparable device the speed of rotation of the drive shaft 69 may be decreased or increased as occasion may require. It is of consequence that the motor 15 and the unit 70, serving as an assembly, are anchored to the platform 32 and supported in that way in suspended position below the platform and below the frame 12. It is additionally of consequence that-the location of the platform 32 be high enough above the base to provide ample space for suspending the motor 15 and for permitting it to swing from the loading and operating position of FIGS. 1 and 4 to the discharge position of FIG. 5. This spacing is also ofimportance in that it must be sufficient to allow space below the small, open top 50.0f the composite hopper when in discharge position so that some appropriate receptacle (not shown) can be placed beneath it to receive the discharged contents from the hopper. A handle 71 is shown with its lower end 72 attached to the side piece 38 for use in manually tilting the composite hopper from the position of FIG. 4 to the position of FIG. 5, for example, when the contents are to be discharged. The device is so counterbalanced by the relative positioning of the parts about the horizontal axis 13 that the hopper, when fully loaded, can nevertheless be readily tilted by hand for the discharge operation. Subsequent to discharge the device readily swings back to upright position ready for reloading and a successive polishing or burnishing operation.

The open construction of the device as a whole wherein all moving parts are exposed makes the operation of assembly a relatively simple and easy one and also preserves all such parts in a position readily accessible by service men and mechanics as servicing and maintenance work becomes necessary.

Thehopper is adapted to be loaded from the top, preferably when the motor 15 is at rest, even though there will be a tendency for the load to fall to one side of the lower section 46 due to the tilted orientation of the wobble plate 60. When liquid is to be added to the load for a polishing, burnishing or even a washing operation the load in the hopper can be lightened prior to discharge by employment ofa drain cock 73. The location of the drain cock 73 should be in such a position, as suggested in FIG. 1, so that it can be moved to a location lower than the remainderof the flexible, lower section in order to drain out substantially all of the liquid contents, and then closed, while the hopper is tilted to the discharge position of FIG. 5 previously described.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what is conceived to be a practical and effective embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent is:

l. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine comprising a supporting stand adapted to support the machine in upright position, a frame having upper and lower ends tiltably mounted on said stand on a horizontal axis, a composite hopper on said stand providing a chamber and comprising a relatively rigid upper loading section forming an upper pocket anchored to the upper end of the frame with an open end uppermost and a closed flexible lower section located above the lower end of the frame and forming a lower pocket of flexible character, and a motor suspended on the lower end of the frame at a location below the flexible lower section and above the bottom of said stand, a wobble plate centerably disposed at the bottom of said lower section, said wobble plate having a vertical axis of rotation and a drive connection from said motor to said plate, said flexible lower section comprising the connection between the rigid upper loading section and the motor, said horizontal axis being at a level passing through the flexible lower section intermediate upper and lower ends thereof.

2. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine according to claim 1 wherein the horizontal axis of the tiltable mounting of the frame on the stand passes through the flexible lower section of the composite hopper. I

3. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine according to claim 1 wherein when the hopper is tilted to discharge position the open end of the hopper is below the horizontal axis and the motor is in a position above the horizontal axis.

4. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine according to claim 1 wherein the location of the bottom of the frame and the top of the hopper are above the bottom of the supporting stand in all positions of tilt a distance greater than the space occupied by the motor, whereby the motor and hopper swing clear of the stand when moved to discharge position for the hopper.

5. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine according to claim 1 wherein the flexible lower section extends throughout the interior of the rigid loading section so that the entire hopper has a relatively soft inte- I'lOl'. 

1. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine comprising a supporting stand adapted to support the machine in upright position, a frame having upper and lower ends tiltably mounted on said stand on a horizontal axis, a composite hopper on said stand providing a chamber and comprising a relatively rigid upper loading section forming an upper pocket anchored to the upper end of the frame with an open end uppermost and a closed flexible lower section located above the lower end of the frame and forMing a lower pocket of flexible character, and a motor suspended on the lower end of the frame at a location below the flexible lower section and above the bottom of said stand, a wobble plate centerably disposed at the bottom of said lower section, said wobble plate having a vertical axis of rotation and a drive connection from said motor to said plate, said flexible lower section comprising the connection between the rigid upper loading section and the motor, said horizontal axis being at a level passing through the flexible lower section intermediate upper and lower ends thereof.
 2. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine according to claim 1 wherein the horizontal axis of the tiltable mounting of the frame on the stand passes through the flexible lower section of the composite hopper.
 3. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine according to claim 1 wherein when the hopper is tilted to discharge position the open end of the hopper is below the horizontal axis and the motor is in a position above the horizontal axis.
 4. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine according to claim 1 wherein the location of the bottom of the frame and the top of the hopper are above the bottom of the supporting stand in all positions of tilt a distance greater than the space occupied by the motor, whereby the motor and hopper swing clear of the stand when moved to discharge position for the hopper.
 5. A unitary polishing and burnishing machine according to claim 1 wherein the flexible lower section extends throughout the interior of the rigid loading section so that the entire hopper has a relatively soft interior. 